The Incredible Hulk vs Darth Vader
by EJM1224
Summary: Set between Episodes IV and V of Star Wars and just after The Avengers defeat Loki. The Emperor orders a machine be made to bring The Hulk over into their universe after catching a glimpse of him in a vision. After Banner is captured, Vader makes the mistake of making him mad.
1. The Plan

**The Incredible Hulk vs. Darth Vader**

(Set between Episodes IV and V)

It had been mere days since the Rebels had destroyed the Death Star and already the Emperor was concocting new plans. As usual, it would be Vader's duty to carry these out. Despite all the risks behind the Emperor's new plan, he had insisted Vader begin immediately. Far off into the future, in a galaxy far, far away, the Emperor had managed to catch a glimpse of the most powerful creature he had ever seen and he would do anything to have it in his arsenal.

Several months after the devastating battle, the Emperor's orders were nearly complete. Many of the greatest Imperial engineers worked to create the most advanced piece of technology that ever existed. After the Emperor presented them with a strange new power source, the building process was far simpler. Nobody knew how the he got his hands on the thing he called the Teseract, but they never asked. Not only would it form a wormhole to the distant planet that housed the beast, but it could bend time in such a way that they would have access to an exact date in which it existed. Even Vader, who was still reluctant to imprison such a dangerous creature, was impressed at this achievement.

Finally it was time to retrieve the monster. Although they had chosen a moment when it would be in its weaker form, Vader was still anxious to perform the pick-up. From what the Emperor had described, this dangerous creature, known as the Hulk, could break out at any moment. The fate of the war would be in his hands and Vader knew it.


	2. Retrieving Banner

As the engineers struggled to activate the machine, Vader stood at the ready, lightsaber in hand. Standing directly in front of the Teseract, he shouted commands at the troopers. A low hum began to fill the room as energy built up in the front of the contraption. Its bright blue light increased, forcing many to look away. In an instant, the humming stopped and the light burst into a vortex of blazing matter. Before anyone could react, it engulfed Vader and threw him into the other world.

In seconds, the portal between the Star Destroyer and Earth stabilized and Vader gained his footing. Rubble littered the floor around him and almost no human life was present. Only a few strange beings were in the same room, all staring at him. It appeared as is Vader caught them eating a meal, which worked for his advantage.

A single step forward brought the others out of their daze. Immediately, one shot an arrow, catching Vader off guard. Swinging his saber, Vader destroyed the projectile before it could touch him. One being swung a hammer, another threw a flying disc. Both were easily dealt with, Vader simply formed a protective barrier around himself using the Force. Bullets came from one end of the room and laser blasts from the other. The powerful hits were beginning to wear Vader down, he couldn't hold up the barrier for long. He had to find his target. The beast clearly wasn't in action, otherwise the entire room would be destroyed, so Vader went after the only other person there.

Banner was standing behind the others, not wanting to turn into the Hulk at risk of hurting anyone. Vader was relieved at this; if the creature didn't want to fight, its capture might be as simple as the Emperor said. Leaping forward, Vader grabbed Banner's arm and flung him into the portal, while still maintaining a grip on the Force shield. Following close behind, Vader re-entered the Destroyer and ordered the portal be shut-down. As always, the troopers were quick to respond and had the Teseract disabled before any of the others got through.

Vader smiled at the confused Banner as he struggled to pull himself off the floor.

It wasn't long before he composed himself and managed to look Vader in the face. Banner had confidence and Vader could tell. There were very few people that would look at him without fear, one of the only being the Emperor.

"Who are you?" Banner finally asked, eyeing Vader's suit.

"That's not important," he responded. "What is important is that you have been given the honor of recruitment in the effort to defeat the Rebel Alliance. Our leader has noticed your power and has personally requested your assistance."

"Thanks, but…I'll have to pass."

"It wasn't a question, it was a fact, Dr. Banner. We know all about your other half and we plan on using it to win our war. There is no way out of this, if you don't cooperate, we'll make you."

"I wouldn't recommend that; its power is…unattainable, you just can't control it. Trust me, many have tried," Banner replied nervously.

"Restrain him and put him in a containment cell," Vader said to his men, turning away from Banner. "Sorry you couldn't listen to reason, Dr. Banner, but if this is what it takes, then it will be done."

"It's not too late, you can end this! You wouldn't understand; you haven't seen what it can do!" Banner shrieked as he was dragged out of the room.


	3. The Emperor's Orders

"My lord, the creature has refused to aide us. We have taken it into custody, but we're not sure how safe it may be," Vader said, head bowed.

"Force it into fighting, that is the only way," replied the Emperor, who spoke through a hologram.

"But, what if it cannot be contained, as Banner said. It's power is unlike anything you'd ever seen and-"

"No! Can't you see, he's trying to fool you! The feeble creature is trying to escape. It knows the monster is what we need and that we'll never release him if we see it fight. Put him to sleep and launch him into the nearest Rebel base. If what I've seen serves the truth, he'll transform and destroy everything in sight as soon as he wakes."

"Yes, my lord."

As soon as the hologram dissipated, Vader ordered a serum be brought to Banner's cell and prepared to follow through with the Emperor's orders.


	4. The Battle

Needle in hand, Vader stood outside the cell in the dimly lit detention corridor, ready to inject Banner as soon as the door opened. Slowly, he reached out and pressed the button on the wall beside the bolts that held the door shut. They slid open at the touch and a loud buzzer cried out. Pressurized air hissed as the small room opened. From around the side of the door, Banner span out and started to run. Even Vader was surprised. He had seemed so composed before, but now Banner ran like an animal from a predator. The thought of releasing the monster pushed him into desperation. But no matter how hard he ran, he couldn't escape Vader.

With a flick of the wrist, Banner fell to the ground, arm raised in the air.

"Now you will see the true power of the Empire," Vader growled, sliding the needle into Banner's arm.

Immediately, Vader was pushed away and slid on his back down the corridor. He let out a moan as he lifted himself back onto his feet. Banner was struggling down the hall, grabbing onto anything he could reach. In the dim light, it was hard for Vader to make out what was going on, but from what he could tell, Banner's skin was turning…green.

Vader found himself running the other direction even before the realization hit. Maybe it was the monster's deep roar echoing around him, or the sight of the metal ceiling collapsing as he grew, but all that was going through Vader's head was how to escape. The Hulk was blocking off the main entrance of the detention corridor and the other side was just a dead end. Hiding inside a cell could work, but it could also trap him and practically give himself to the Hulk.

The only way out was to fight. Stopping in his tracks, Vader turned and made eye contact with the beast. There was no confidence in its eyes; not fear or hatred, but anger. An anger for everything that could never be extinguished.

Rushing forward, Vader formed another Force shield. In a single leap, the Hulk made contact with the invisible wall, knocking Vader to the floor. No matter how solid the shield was, Vader could never keep it up with the Hulk continuing to hit it. Each punch vibrated the air and pressed in on his chest. Swinging his arm forward, Vader pushed as hard as he could, but the Hulk only fumbled back on one foot. Not only was the beast strong, it was also heavy. Vader knew it was possible to move even the heaviest of things with the Force, but he would need to concentrate. There was no way he could muster that much energy in battle.

The Hulk continued forward and landed a hit on Vader's side. His moans of pain fueled Hulk's rage and brought on another onslaught of pain. Vader reached for his belt, groping around for his last hope. The deep buzz of the lightsaber mesmerized the Hulk, forcing him to stop and stare. Vader saw this as an opportunity to drive the blade right into the Hulk's chest.

The saber stopped dead, forcing back on Vader's arms. The Hulk's roar drowned out Vader's cries of pain as he plucked the lightsaber from his skin. It barely made a visible hole, let alone break through. Vader was shocked at this, the lightsaber was the most powerful weapon in the universe, yet it couldn't cut through its skin. But the saber did burn it, Vader realized. Possibly if he could keep the beast in contact with the blade long enough, he could burn through its skin.

Vader grabbed the lightsaber, which was now at the Hulk's feet. Thrashing wildly, the Hulk attempted to grab Vader by the cape, but couldn't get a hold. Vader pushed himself around with small boosts of Force, nearly making himself invisible in the dark hallway. Finally stopping, he pushed himself off the ground and flipped over the Hulk's shoulder, landing on his feet. Yet another deep roar deafened Vader; Hulk was as mad as ever.

Vader swung the saber, but Hulk grabbed it. A low sizzling noise told Vader it was beginning to burn through the thick skin, but Hulk showed no pain. Vanes bulged in his arm as he struggled to keep a grip on the hot blade. The more force exerted created a louder noise, but Vader realized it wasn't coming from the Hulk, it was coming from the lightsaber. The deep red color of the blade was fading towards the middle, into a light yellow. As Hulk bent his arm in the opposite direction Vader was pushing, the blade was beginning to…_bend_.

Vader ducked as the beam broke. The blade arched up into the ceiling and hot plasma dripped from the handle. Hulk took no notice of the hazardous material covering his body and began to approach Vader once more. The metal grating on the floor began to melt out. The whole section of the hallway was disintegrating.

"Sir, get down!" came a familiar scream from the front of the corridor.

Vader's Commanding Officer was ordering the Imperial engineers to drag the Teseract and its machinery into the doorway. As it began to hum, Vader scrunched up on the floor and prepared for the beam to shoot past. Hulk swung back his arm, ready to begin hitting Vader when the blast finally came. The air rippled as the blue energy wrapped around the Hulk and dragged him out of the hallway.

"Shut it down!" Vader yelled.


	5. Afterwords

The troops immediately responded and closed the portal. Vader was safe, but badly injured. The Hulk was home and the Star Destroyer survived. Besides the Emperor's angry ranting, everything ended well. Although he killed him later, Vader really appreciated his Commanding Officer for saving his life. It was a good thing he was gone though, Vader didn't want anyone to find out how he helpless he'd been.

EJ M. 2012 Creative Writing


End file.
